Sleeping Doppelganger
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: Elena comes home from school one day to find Katherine in her room. Katherine is there for 'just a chat' but ends up compelling Elena into a sleep only her true love can wake her from. Which brother can wake her up? And how does he do it? Elena/? RATING HAS CHANGED!
1. Katherine's Plan

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: yet another fanfic where Elena takes the unwilling role of Sleeping Beauty in order to be forced into accepting who she truly loves is now being added to the stack in the archives. I hope you enjoy my rendition of the theme. And yes, I know the suspense isn't all that big on who Elena end up with, considering I only like writing her with one brother. But just pretend you don't know, please?

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
I only own what I write. The theme comes from the fairytale _Sleeping Beauty._ The Vampire Diaries and cast are owned by L.J. Smith. Mystic Falls and settings are owned by CW.

_**WARNINGS**_  
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Rated T for my sanity, not that I have any. Rating _may_ go up in later chapters, but I'm not planning on it.

_**SUMMARY**_  
Elena comes home from school one day to find Katherine in her room. Katherine is there for 'just a chat' but ends up compelling Elena into a sleep only her true love can wake her from. Which brother can wake her up? And how does he do it? _**Elena/?**_

* * *

Chapter 1  
Katherine's Plan

Elena sighs as she climbs the stairs to her room. School was so hectic today, not to mention Stefan's overprotective tendencies are reaching annoyingly high levels. At least its Friday. She just wants to go in her room and take a nap. Little does she realize that she's going to get far more than that soon enough. Elena walks in her room and shuts her door behind her, letting her backpack slide off her shoulder to the floor beside the door.

She turns around, intent on making her way to her bed only to freeze at seeing her mirror-image smirking at her from the middle of the room. Before Elena can do more than fumble for her cell phone, Katherine has her pressed against the door, holding Elena's vervaine necklace in one hand while her other hand is on Elena's throat. "Drop the phone, Elena," Katherine compels her. Elena releases the phone and it bounces harmlessly on the floor. "Good to know you're not ingesting vervaine as well as wearing it. Now, go sit on your bed and be absolutely quiet. We are going to have a talk. If I ask you a question, you will nod for 'yes' and shake your head for 'no'. You will be completely honest with me. You will not say a word or make any sounds." Katherine releases Elena. As hard as she tries to fight it, Elena's body forces her to obey Katherine and goes to sit on her bed. Katherine stands in front of Elena, studying her intently. "You know, if I wanted you dead, I'd have killed you years ago. I keep a firm eye on all my descendents as they're growing up and living their lives. I was nearby the day Isobel gave birth to you. I wasn't very happy that she mixed _my_ blood with that of the Gilbert family, but what can you do? I wasn't going to just kill you because of something that wasn't your fault. But I knew the second I caught sight of your eyes that looking at you in a matter of years would be like looking at the mirror. And I was right."

Katherine is silent for a few minutes. "Enough family bonding, though. We'll have plenty of time for that eventually. But first, I have one last game I want to play with the Salvatore brothers. And you, my darling granddaughter, are going to be the game board." Elena's eyes widen at that. "Oh, don't worry, no harm will come to you. Not this time. No, this time I'm going to do both of us a favor. You see, there are two of us. And there are two Salvatore brothers. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Katherine asks. Elena shakes her head. "Ah, well. Give it a few centuries, you'll be a whole lot smarter. Anyways, Two of us, two of them. We can each walk away from this with a Salvatore on our arm. We just have to figure out which one is truly in love with _you_ for precisely the person you are and which one is infatuated by your resemblance to me and your goody-goody personality. You see, darling, in vampires, love and infatuation are _practically_ the same thing. Our feelings are that intense. The only difference is that infatuation builds up an impossible image in your mind of who that person is and you fall in love with that image and mistake it for love for that person. _Love_ is finding out damn well who that person is and loving them for everything they are, good and bad. It took me a hundred-and-forty-five years to figure that one out." Elena's eyes widen in surprise. "I see you know what I'm talking about. I thought I was in love with _both_ Salvatore brothers and it took all those years of separation and watching them from afar for me to realize the truth. It's only now that I am hear to claim what's mine. I truly want it to be Stefan to be on my arm for eternity. But if he is truly in love with you, then I'll settle for Damon. But trust me, Elena. Only _one_ of them is truly in love with you. And you are truly in love with only _one_ of them. I am willing to sacrifice my happy ending so you can have one, if it comes to that."

Katherine walks over to Elena's dresser and examines the pictures stuck to the mirror. After a few moments, she turns back to Elena. "Do you believe in soulmates, Elena?" she asks. Elena slowly nods her head. Katherine grins. "I came here today to see to it that you and your soulmate are together in the end. I'm tired of watching everyone who claims they love you as they shove their opinions down your throat and you meekly give way beneath their pressure. Where's your Petrova fire? What happened to that inferno that filled you in your youth? One of the Salvatore brothers is your soulmate, of that I'm sure. And I intend to make it perfectly clear who it is." In a flash, Katherine's in front of Elena, the human's chin held in a tight grip. "Your body will go to sleep and will not wake up until your soulmate proves to both of you that he is the one for you. Your mind will be awake so you know exactly what is going on around you but your body will sleep and will be unable to act." Katherine grins. "Good night, Elena," she says, releasing Elena's mind and chin.

Elena's eyes drift close and she falls back on her bed, deeply asleep. Katherine smirks and walks over to where Elena's phone is. She proceeds to send a text to both Salvatore brothers:

_I'm leaving Elena's room now. Let the games begin. – K.P._

She vanishes from Elena's room, leaving an envelope with a previously written letter on the bed next to Elena. 'This is going to be fun,' she thinks.


	2. True to Your Heart

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: and here's chapter 2 for _Sleeping Doppelganger._ I'm sorry about the shortness of chapter 1, but I didn't want to add much else. If you're wondering about the letter, it will be read in this chapter. I hope you enjoy. Also, quick disclaimer: I don't own any music or video referenced in this fic. There. Now, enjoy.

_**NOTE**_  
Since I didn't do this last chapter, I'll give you the background now. When Stefan had finally earned his freedom from Klaus, the group made it perfectly clear to Klaus that he wasn't welcome in Mystic Falls. It wasn't until Caroline warned Klaus that if he continued trying to use her best friend for his sadistic plots, he would never have even the remotest possibility of getting together with her at some far distant point in time. That made Klaus stop and think. He decided that a potential shot at Caroline's heart was worth more than his envisioned army of hybrids and so took all but one of his hybrids (Tyler) with him and left with his family. This takes place several months after that, after they've finally gotten Stefan detoxed back to animal blood.

* * *

Chapter 2  
True to Your Heart

Damon surges through Elena's window a split second before Stefan does, fury raging through his veins. He looks around and immediately sees Elena asleep on her bed with an envelope next to her. The envelope has all-too-familiar handwriting addressing it to both brothers. He ignores the envelope in favor of trying to wake up Elena. "Elena, wake up," he orders, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently shaking her. "C'mon, kitten, open your eyes. Now is _not_ the time for a nap!" he snaps. "You need to wake up and tell us what the hell Katherine was doing in here!"

Stefan had grabbed the envelope and ripped it up to see what Katherine's up to this time. He snarls. "Damon, it's not going to work. Katherine _compelled_ her to sleep until a certain event takes place," he tells his brother, laying a hand on Damon's shoulder.

"She _what?"_ Damon demands, snatching the letter from Stefan's hand and reading it himself.

_Stefan and Damon,_

_My, how history loves repeating itself. Only this time, I'm not going to let things get as out of hand as they did in 1864. I'm doing Elena a favor, actually. I compelled her to sleep until a certain event takes place. She won't be waking up until it happens. As 98 Degrees and Stevie Wonder sang at the end of Mulan, being "true to your heart" is when you aren't telling yourself lies. I'm simply making Elena face what her heart already knows. It took me 145 years to understand that there's a difference between love and infatuation. I'm not going to let Elena wait that many years for this difference to become clear to the two of you. One of you is in love with her. One of you is infatuated by her. Time to figure this out for yourselves, boys. And it's high time for Elena's Petrova fire to roar once more. Until it is __proven__ to her who she loves and that he loves her in return, she will continue sleeping._

_Take care,_

_K.P._

Damon rakes a hand through his hair in frustration. "And how exactly are we going to figure _that_ out?" he demands of Stefan.

Stefan shrugs, frowning at Elena. "We'll have to tell the others," he says finally, whipping out his cell phone. He searches through his contacts.

"Start with Judgy," Damon suggests. Stefan raises an eyebrow. "Now's probably the best time to find out if a witch's magic can negate vampire compulsion, don't you agree?"

Stefan nods in agreement. He selects Bonnie's name and hits send, putting the phone to his ear. Bonnie picks up in the middle of the first ring. _"Stefan? What's going on?"_ she asks.

"Katherine compelled Elena to sleep," Stefan says.

"_Uh, what?"_ Bonnie asks, obviously confused.

Damon snatches his brother's phone from his hand and puts it to his ear. "What baby bro didn't say is that the bitch compelled Elena to sleep until it is proven to our Sleeping Beauty who she loves _and_ that he loves her in return. She mentioned something about infatuation and doing Elena a favor in the letter she left," he says. "It's time to test your limits, Judgy. Think you're up for trying to break a vampire's compulsion with magic?"

"_I don't know. I can try, but it's never been done successfully before,"_ Bonnie says. _"Where are we doing this?"_

"Well, Elena's on her bed in the Gilbert house, sleeping merrily away. Just the three of us in the house at the moment. You might want to clue your boyfriend into the fact that his big sister is now stuck in the role of Sleeping Beauty," Damon replies, hearing Jeremy demanding that Bonnie tell him what's going on in the background. "Call Vampire Barbie and Wolf Boy while you're on the way over. Might as well get the whole crew in on this."

"_Damon, she'll be fine. It's Elena, after all,"_ Bonnie reassures him before hanging up.

Damon hangs up and tosses Stefan's phone back to his brother. He pulls his own phone out and calls Rick to explain what's going on.

It's only a matter of fifteen minutes before everyone's gathered in the Gilbert living room, where Elena had been transferred to the couch with her head resting in Damon's lap. And now they've spent another fifteen minutes silently contemplating the problem at hand.

"You know," Tyler starts, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Katherine made certain to list a specific song and the specific artists that sang it in her letter. Maybe the song has clues to what we should do. Just an idea."

"A Disney song from the nineties could hold the answer? That's what you think?" Damon asks scornfully.

"Worth a shot," Bonnie admits. "As soon as Elena heard it the first time, she declared it to be her most favorite song. It's status hasn't changed in all this time, though the ones following it on her favorites list have changed and rearranged."

"A few months ago, I caught Elena listening to it on repeat," Jeremy confesses. "She said she wished she still understood what it meant to be true to her heart. I didn't understand what she meant by that. And to be honest, I still don't."

Damon rolls his eyes when it becomes apparent that they were going to listen to the song. He groans and pulls out his IPod. "I still don't see how this is going to work," he growls as he looks up the song Elena had insisted on adding to his IPod. He finds the song and hits play, turning the sound up so everyone can listen in. Caroline raises an eyebrow at him for having the song on his IPod. "Elena insisted," he says, rolling his eyes again. And everyone in the room knows that when Elena insists on something like that, Damon gives in.

Damon turns his IPod off as the song starts over. "Well, that was fun," Damon remarks sarcastically. "Any more bright ideas, anyone?"

"Part of the last verse is bugging me," Caroline admits. "_'When all the world around you, it seems to be falling apart, keep on believing',"_ she sings. "Seriously, Elena's whole world has fallen apart over and over since you two showed up," she says, pointing first at Stefan then at Damon. "But she kept believing things would get better. And they did for a time before falling apart again. It's been a cycle. But she never stopped believing things would one day get better and _stay_ better."

"Your point?" Damon asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, there has to be something about the times it got better for her that was there every time and got separated from her somehow in the hard times," Caroline says, raking a hand through her hair. "Not necessarily separated by physical distance. I'm thinking more like some sort of emotional barrier that was forced between her and what was making her happy."

"Bravo," a cool voice says from the entry hall, accompanied by soft clapping. Every person there tenses and turns to see Katherine. "I didn't expect you to be the one to put those clues together, Caroline," the vampiress admits. "Ah, ah, ah!" she says when several among them move to get up. She vamps through the room and reappears at her original position, Elena's sleeping form braced against her. "Don't try anything funny. There's no magical spell or vampire blood that can save her this time," she warns, her hand around Elena's throat. Everyone immediately settles down, though they stay tense. "Much better," Katherine purrs. "Now, let's talk. You should know what I forced Elena to face." She keeps an arm wrapped around Elena's chest and waves the other hand around the room. "The lot of you are shoving your opinions and decisions down her throat and forcing her to ignore her heart. I wouldn't call that friendship."

"You don't _have_ friends, Katherine," Damon snarls.

"I used to, when I was human," she retorts. "And they put me through the exact same thing that you lot are putting Elena through. Talk about history repeating! You obviously haven't done much research into the whole doppelganger thing. With doppelgangers, history _does_ tend to repeat itself incessantly. When I was human, I was a lot like Elena. I had 'friends' I cared for greatly. But they were constantly shoving their decisions and opinions down my throat. I was scared of losing their 'friendship' by letting them know how I really felt, so I went along with where they thought my life should head despite the fact that I was miserable. But things happened that proved to me just how wrong it was to let them decide how I should live my life. I won't let Elena turn into me. I won't sit by and watch as those who claim to care for her make her miserable." Katherine's eyes harden. "So I decided it was about damned time to force her to listen to her heart once more." She meets first Stefan's eyes and then Damon's. "Only one of you brothers is truly in love with her. The other is simply infatuated with an impossible image he has of who she is. It took me a hundred-and-forty-five years to figure out the difference between love and infatuation. I'm not going to make Elena wait around that long for you two to realize the difference. So I decided to force your hand. Only the one who truly loves her and she truly loves in return will be able to wake her." She turns her eyes to Bonnie. "Don't bother wasting your powers trying to wake her. Vampire compulsion can only be reversed by the vampire who put it there. Not even magic can reverse it. I had Emily test that for me on numerous occasions while we were travelling together. And since I'm not going to reverse my compulsion on her, she will only wake up when true love is proven to her." Katherine gently lowers Elena's body to the floor. "They say true love conquers all. Let's see how much truth is in that saying." Then she vanishes from the house.

Damon is next to Elena in an instant, his hands gently checking her over for any harm Katherine might have inflicted on her. The others are too numb with shock to move. "Judgy, get your ass over here and check on her," he snaps.

Bonnie snaps out of her daze and quickly crosses the room to kneel next to Elena. She puts her hands on either side of Elena's face, closes her eyes, and concentrates. "That's weird," she mutters.

"What's weird?" Damon demands.

"Katherine compelled her so that only her _body_ slept but her _mind_ remained aware of what's going on around her. Elena's scared of something, but she won't let me see _what,"_ Bonnie says. "C'mon, Elena, it's me. We've been like sisters since we were in diapers. Show me what's scaring you." Suddenly, Bonnie winces away from Elena, pulling her hands from the sleeping girl's face. "That wasn't very nice, Elena," Bonnie snaps.

"What did she do?" Caroline asks, coming over.

"She did something that was the equivalent of a mental slap," Bonnie says irritably, rubbing her head. "Whatever she's scared of, she doesn't want us knowing."

"Proof of true love, huh?" Damon mutters. "Hey, Steffie, she's _your_ girlfriend. Come show her how much you love her," he calls mockingly.

"I doubt it'll be something as simple as a kiss," Stefan says as he comes over.

"She's not wearing her necklace," Caroline notes.

"Katherine must have it," Damon growls.

"Well, she's not wearing vervaine, so you could go into her mind and try to prove to her how you feel," Caroline suggests to Stefan.

Damon notices Stefan's hesitation. "What's wrong, brother? Worried about opening your thoughts to her?" he taunts.

"Of course not!" Stefan snarls, kneeling down by Elena's head. He places his hands on either side of the sleeping girl's and closes his eyes so he can concentrate.


	3. The Truth of the Matter

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: here's chapter three. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 3  
The Truth of the Matter

Stefan puts his reluctance to invade Elena's most private thoughts to the side and sends his consciousness into her mind. He knows that to wake her up, he will have to reveal his thoughts to her, and himself, just as her thoughts will be revealed to him.

_Stefan finds himself in Elena's room in the middle of the night. Elena is relaxing on her window seat, staring out at the stars. "Elena?" he says softly._

"_I figured something like this would have to happen," she says softly without turning towards him. "I figured you'd be the first one to attempt this. You know as well as I do that you're not going to be the one to wake me up. So why bother?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Stefan demands._

_Elena chuckles darkly. "You know damned well what I'm talking about, Stefan. I know exactly how you see me. You see me as an innocent. As someone to be protected from the dangers and darkness in this world. The truth is, I've known about some of the darker parts of humanity for years. I may not have had a clue about the supernatural until you and Damon showed up in my life, but even then I wasn't an innocent," she says. "But how could you know that? You never bothered asking about my past, about who I was before my parents died. You saw the grief-ridden girl you watched over that summer and didn't bother finding out if there was something more underneath the grief and guilt I carried. You should just go tell Damon it's his turn."_

"_Elena, I love you," Stefan protests._

_Elena shakes her head. "You love who you think I am. I'm not the girl you have pictured in your head, Stefan. I used to know how to have fun. I used to slip to the next town with a fake ID and get drunk with Caroline as we partied it up. Damon's been bringing the girl I really am to the surface slowly and steadily. He's reigniting my inner flame and building it back up. I was once a lot like Damon. I wasn't an ass and I certainly never killed anyone, but he and I share a lot of traits. Katherine's just forcing me to face what I've been running from since I first laid eyes on Damon in the boarding house." Stefan shakes his head in refusal and takes a step towards Elena, only to be flung against the far wall and held there by invisible hands. "Stefan, remember, this is _my_ mind," she warns him. "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. It's finally time I let the real Elena back out. I've put it off for too damn long. I'm tired of merely existing. It's time for me to learn to live again. Damon's shown me glimpses of what it's like and I crave returning to life. I want to break free of these chains I've wrapped around myself. Caroline once likened me to mustang, wild and free. I've been trying to adapt to the bridle. But I find myself straining against the bit, longing for my freedom. Damon keeps giving me tastes of that freedom that I had lost. And each taste makes me want it all the more. And it's finally time to rid myself of the saddle and bridle and take back my freedom. Only one person is able to ride this horse without getting bit, and even he has to ride bareback or not at all. So just go tell him that it's his turn."_

Before Stefan can even try to argue with her, she flings him out of her mind so forcefully he falls backwards in the real world, his skull ringing painfully. "Well?" Damon demands, looking between Stefan and Elena. He grows worried when Elena doesn't wake up. "What happened?"

Stefan meets Damon's eyes. "She likened herself to a wild mustang. And only one of us has ever been able to tame a wild horse without getting bit," he says darkly, pushing himself off the floor. "She flung me out of her mind."

Everyone else turns to stare at Elena in shock. If Stefan can't wake her up, that leaves only one option. Damon takes a deep breath, unnecessary but steadying. Then he gathers Elena into his arms, closes his eyes, and dives into her mind.

* * *

Sarah: okay, what happens between Damon and Elena in her mind will be revealed next chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Sorry about how short this is, but I want Damon and Stefan's experiences in her mind to be separate chapters.


	4. Honesty is the Best Policy

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: here's chapter 4. Please read the note at the end of the chapter when you're done. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4  
Honesty is the Best Policy

_Damon finds himself in Elena's room in the middle of the night. Literally. The clock on Elena's nightstand reads 12:00 am. He sighs as he takes in the room Elena had built up in her mind. It's _very_ different from her real room. In this her mind, her room is more like the lair of a dark princess than the ordinary teenage girl's room that is her real room. It's still _recognizable_ as being her room in the Gilbert house. But the décor and general atmosphere is drastically different._

_Finally he turns to Elena, curled up on her window seat. He takes in the tight black jeans, black tank top, and black leather jacket she's wearing. "You know, I'm not the kind of guy who is happily-ever-after material," he says conversationally, leaning against the black Queen Anne dresser she had put in her mental bedroom._

"_I stopped believing in fairytale-style happily-ever-after endings the night my parents died," Elena replies, keeping her gaze on the starry sky outside. "If such a thing existed, my parents would still be alive, I'd already be a vampire, and you and I would have met first and gotten together. As it is, I'd rather work to make my own happy ending instead of living out some fairytale."_

"_You should know the truth if we're going try to make this work," he says._

_That draws her attention from the stars to his face. "What do you mean?" she asks sharply._

"_You and I did meet first, that night your parents died. You had just gotten off the phone with Judgy and I mistook you for Katherine. As you introduced yourself, I realized that you're _human._ In the end, just before your parents showed up, I compelled you to forget our little meeting because I didn't need Stefan and Zach finding out I was in town until I was ready for them to," he says._

_Elena takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Do you plan on giving me the memory back?" she asks._

"_Well, I can't exactly do that while we're in your mind, now can I? I'd have to compel it back for you and that's one thing I can't do within your mind. I could do a lot of things while in your head, but compulsion isn't one of them. It takes eye contact to work," he says, shrugging. "Don't ask me why because I have no idea." He cocks his head at her. "So can we get to the whole waking you up deal?"_

_Elena sighs, turning her attention back to stars outside. "I have no idea how we're supposed to do that," she admits. "I just know Stefan's not the one who's going to wake me because you are."_

_Damon sighs, raking a hand through his hair. He looks around the lair Elena had made for herself. "Nice décor," he compliments. "Very dark princess like."_

"_If I had the money and time, I'd recreate this in my real room," she chuckles._

"_Money's not a problem if you'd let me help," Damon comments. He glances at the clock on her night stand, frowning when he sees it still reads 12:00 am. "Something you want to tell me about midnight or is the damned clock broken?" he asks._

"_It's had that time since Katherine trapped me here. And it's a new moon out. Normally when I dream about this, it's just after the sun has completely set but there's still some light in the sky and there's a waning crescent moon in the sky. I don't know what the difference means. Every time I dreamt about this room, you'd be here with me. What goes on would be different each dream, but the constants were you and I were here, we were obviously a couple, it would be just past sunset, and there'd be a waning crescent moon in the sky. And every time I had that dream, I always woke up to find you nearby. That's how I know you're the one who'll wake me up from this," she says._

"_You dream about me?" Damon asks, obviously pleased with the revelation._

"_Don't say it like you didn't already know it," she groans._

"_Oh, I knew you dream about me. I just didn't know you dreamed about me as your boyfriend," he chuckles. "Anyways, are there any other constants from those dreams?" he asks, arching an eyebrow._

_Elena frowns, thinking about it. "Well, they would always start with it being just after sunset and you showing up in my window. And for some reason, I'd always look at the clock just before I'd wake up. It always turns 12:01 am just as I wake up. And every time I woke up I'd be really pissed because just before I'd look at the clock, you'd say you wanted to ask me something and told me not to laugh. Then I'd find myself looking at the clock even though I tried so hard to keep my attention on you. The clock would turn 12:01am and I'd wake up."_

"_So, I'd have this question for you but you'd look at the clock and just as it turns 12:01, you'd wake up," Damon asks, frowning thoughtfully. "Any idea what the question might have been?" he asks._

_Elena shakes her head. "No. You'd be twisting your daylight ring when you say you had a question for me." She sighs. "You'd also look nervous. Well as nervous as you ever let yourself look."_

"_Must've been a pretty important question then," Damon muses. "Maybe if we could figure out what that damn question is, we'll be able to wake you up from this compelled coma."_

"What's taking them so long?"_ Bonnie's voice comes through the open window._

"I don't know,"_ Stefan's voice replies._

_Damon jumps but Elena sighs. "Katherine made it so I know what's going on around me," she explains. "I can hear what's going on as if it were happening right outside this window. I can _feel_ your physical arms holding me. The breeze that's blowing in carries the scents closest to my body." Elena breathes in deeply. "Leather, aftershave, your favorite cologne, and just a hint of spice," she identifies. "Your scent always comforts me."_

"_Oh really?" Damon asks, smirking._

"_Damon, this is not the point of what we're trying to do here. I have a feeling that whatever the question my dreams had you about to ask when I woke up is the key to finding a way to wake me up from this 'compelled coma', as you called it," Elena says._

_Damon pushes away from the dresser and makes his way over to her. "Okay, I have an idea that _might_ work. But I need you to trust me completely," he says, kneeling next to her._

"_Damon, I trust you with _Jeremy's_ life. And you know damned well how hard it is for me to trust anyone with his life, especially since he's all the family I have left," she replies._

"_This is going to be even more personal than trusting me with your brother, Elena," he says seriously. "While I'm _extremely_ honored that you trust me that much, I need even more trust from you than that."_

_Elena frowns. "What do you mean?" she asks, confused._

"_I can use my Power so that you and I are put through one of those dreams," he explains. "Your subconscious will control our actions and thoughts. When the dream is over, we will remember clearly what was going on and what went through our heads at the time. That's the only way I can think of successfully finding out what question your subconscious wants me to ask you. But for this to work, you have to trust me unconditionally. Otherwise your subconscious will fight me and nothing will happen. So, can you trust me unconditionally? I swear on my life that I won't tell anyone what you've been dreaming." He holds out his hand and waits._

_Elena searches his eyes and realizes his dead serious. She searches her private heart, making sure that she actually trusts him that much before committing to his plan. She's surprised to find that she _does_ trust him unconditionally and then some. She takes a deep breath and places her small hand in his larger one. "I trust you with every fiber of my being, Damon, completely and unconditionally," she tells him sincerely._

_He lets his eyes show his gratitude at that precious gift before he gets serious again. "Okay, close your eyes," he says. She raises an eyebrow at him sardonically. "Elena, trust me. Close your eyes."_

_Elena closes her eyes, keeping her hand in his. She feels his Power sorting through her unprotected mind in search of the 'compartment' she stores her dreams in. Then he sifts through all the dreams she's ever had in search of the dreams fitting the parameters she had described to him. Finally he finds one and pulls it to the forefront of her mind and hits what she equates to as a "play" button. And they are swept into the dream._

* * *

Sarah: so, my dear readers, what do YOU think should be the question Elena's subconscious wants Damon to ask her? Give me your opinions and I might just use your suggestion!


	5. The Dream I Have with You

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: and here is chapter five. This will _purely_ be one of the dreams Elena mentioned in the last chapter. The big question she's being dying to find out will be revealed next chapter. You can still tell me what you think the question should be and you never know, I just might use your suggestion. So drop me a review and tell me what you think and give your suggestion for the big question once your done reading. I hope you enjoy. Also: the song _Can't Fight the Moonlight_ is owned by LeAnn Rimes, not me. It's only mentioned. If you want to know the lyrics, I suggest looking up the song on Youtube or even downloading it. Listen to it on repeat as you read what happens after the song is mentioned. I think it sets the mood for that part.

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Chapter 5  
The Dream I Have with You

_Elena waits by her window, knowing that as soon as the sun is below the horizon, _he_ will come. He is her whole world, her everything. Her room and outfit reflect the shadowy world he has lured her into. He comes through her window every night as soon as the sun has completely set, though there is still light in the sky._

_She watches expectantly as the sun sinks lower and lower, her black, medieval-style gown and dark hair making her pale skin seem even paler. She's not in mourning. Her lover may have died more than a century ago, but he is still very much a part of this world. Damon Salvatore, the man who stole her heart, is a vampire. He has taught her about the shadowed world he dwells in, the world her parents had desperately hidden from her when they were alive._

_Finally! The last of the sun's rays sinks below the horizon. She smiles and steps back, making room for his arrival. And in a _swish_ of wind he arrives. The ring on his hand allows him to walk in the sun unharmed, but he prefers visiting her at night. He poses as a twenty-four-year-old young man on the secret council that is out to rid her town of his kind. And only she knows his secret. She smiles warmly at him and he smirks in return._

_If she had sent her wardrobe back into the middle ages, he kept his very much in the here and now. A pair of black jeans hugs his perfect ass, a black button-up shirt stretches tight over his chiseled chest, a black leather jacket hangs from his shoulders, and black boots cover his feet. She raises her hand to stroke the gold heart locket he had given her, containing vervaine to protect her from others of his kind even if it keeps him out of her mind._

_He chuckles. "You look beautiful as always, Elena," he says, his voice rich and smooth as velvet._

"_Thank you," she says. "You don't look half-bad yourself."_

_His eyes twinkle mischievously. "You know, I think tonight we're going to stay in," he says, raising a hand to stroke her cheeks._

"_What about Jeremy?" she asks, concerned._

"_If he doesn't know about our relationship by now, it's about time he should find out," Damon replies, shrugging. "We can't keep this a secret forever, not in a town this small."_

_Elena nods her understanding. In towns as small as Mystic Falls, few secrets stay that way for long. That they hadn't been caught before this is a miracle in itself. "You're right, as usual," she admits. "So, what are we going to do tonight?"_

"_Well, we currently have the house to ourselves. I'm sure we can think of something we can do to stay entertained," he says suggestively, doing the 'eye thing' that she secretly loves._

_She blushes but stays strong. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she challenges._

_Damon chuckles. "As you wish," he says, shrugging out of his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt slowly. Elena rolls her eyes and reaches over to rip his shirt open, buttons flying in all directions. "Do you know how much that shirt cost?" he asks, more amused than annoyed._

"_You can easily replace it," she reminds him._

_She slowly slides her hands down his chest and over his abs, trailing down to the curls of hair that start just above his jeans. She smirks at him and unfastens his belt, pulling it out of the loops and tossing it to the side. She undoes the button of his jeans then slides the zipper down. Then she slides his jeans over his lean hips and down his well-muscled legs, kneeling as she goes. He obediently steps out of both jeans and boots, leaving him clad only in a pair of black boxer-briefs._

"_Your turn," he says, capturing her wrists before she can remove those as well._

_She chuckles and obediently lifts the dress carefully over her head before tossing it to the side. She is left in a matching set of black silk-and-lace lingerie that might as well not even be there for all it does to hide her womanly parts. Damons eyes glow with appreciation. The tenting of his boxer-briefs does nothing to hide where his thoughts are heading._

"_It's your turn again," she reminds him, giving him a cocky grin. She knows exactly how to get to him and luxuriates in being able to do so._

"_As you wish," he says before sliding his boxer-briefs over his hips and down his legs to the floor. He steps out of them and stands there in his full masculine glory. He raises an eyebrow at her._

_She smiles and reaches behind her to unclasp the bit of fabric that dares call itself a bra. Then she slides it off her shoulders and tosses it to the side. She winks at him as she works her thong down her legs and steps out of them. She poses for him. "What do you think?" she asks._

"_There has never been a more perfect woman to walk this Earth," he compliments, his eyes trailing over every inch of her, lingering on the birthmark on her left hip that separates her physical resemblance from his sire's, then trailing down her mile-long legs before making a reverse trip back up to her face. His appreciation for her beauty shows in both his eyes and the very erect member standing firmly at attention at his pelvis._

_Elena chuckles. "You said next time I could play dominatrix. Are you going to go back on that now?" she asks, her eyes shining with devilish delight._

"_Baby, I'm all yours. Just remember, this is a one-time thing. I don't like playing the submissive," he reminds her._

_Elena smiles. "Then I better make it good enough that I might earn a second shot," she says._

"_Give it your best shot. I'm not changing my mind," he retorts._

_She chuckles. "We'll see," is all she says. "On the bed," she says, motioning to the canopy bed with blood red sheets and pillow cases, black curtains, a black comforter, and a black canopy. While Damon makes himself comfortable, Elena reaches into the drawer of her nightstand. She pulls out two pairs of hand cuffs. "Now, you and I both know that you could easily break these or even my bed. So please be careful," she says, holding them up._

"_You're getting kinky," he says approvingly. He obediently raises his arms above his head and she handcuffs one wrist to the same bedpost at the headboard. She circles her bed and repeats the process so that the other wrist is handcuffed to the other bedpost. She returns to the foot of the bed and admires the view. "Okay, so I'm handcuffed to the bed. Now what?" he asks, raising an eyebrow._

"_Well, first I want to turn you into my desert," she says, turning to her dresser._

"_Dessert?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at her naked back, admiring the view of her shapely ass._

_Elena picks up a jar of hot fudge, a can of cool whip, another jar that holds cherries with the stems, and a spoon. Then she returns to the bed and climbs up so that she's straddling his waist. "Well, you always look good enough to eat. So I figured I should make a go of it while I have the chance," she says, smirking at him. She carefully sets her supplies on the bed so that they won't spill._

_Damon eyes her ingredients and is a little concerned by the fact that she's going to put that stuff on his body. But he had agreed to play the submissive to her just once to appease her. "You have some very naughty thoughts going through your head," he admits. "I should keep a better eye on you. I didn't know you could think of something like this."_

"_Hush. I'm in charge, remember?" she reminds him. "I want you to just relax and enjoy what I've cooked up." He chuckles but obediently quiets down. Elena first picks up the can of cool whip and shakes it. She squirts some over each of his flat nipples. Then she picks up the jar of hot fudge and the spoon. "I should warn you, this is going to be a little hot," she tells him before pouring a spoonful on top of each spot of whip cream. Damn hisses at the heat but remains still. As a finishing touch, Elena tops each spot with a cherry. She admires her handiwork briefly before smirking at Damon. "Now for the part _you'll_ enjoy," she says, brushing her hair over her shoulders before leaning down and licking the pile of sweetness from Damon's right nipple. Damon moans at the sensation. She chews the cherry, stem and all. Finally she takes a perfectly knotted cherry stem from her mouth with a triumphant grin._

"_They say that the sign of a good kisser is if they can tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue," Damon comments approvingly._

"_So I've heard," Elena chuckles. Then she repeats the process with the toppings on Damon's left nipple, ending up with another knotted cherry stem and an even more turned-on Damon._

_Elena smirks at him before pulling out another cherry. She grips the stem in her teeth and leans forward, encouraging Damon to take the cherry. Damon happily obliges, his lips brushing hers. She lets him take the stem as well and raises an eyebrow at him. He accepts the challenge and produces a knotted cherry stem._

_She chuckles, taking the stem from him and sets it with her two. "So, if the saying is true, then we're both good kissers," she says, smirking. "But, then, we already knew that."_

_Damon chuckles. "Now what?" he asks, actually excited at finding out just how far she's going to go with the dominatrix role._

"_Well, there's another place I would like to taste before putting away the toppings and moving on to the next stage," she says seductively._

_Damon moans at what she's hinting at. Sure enough, Elena moves back along his body until she's straddling his thighs this time, raising her body over his very large erection. She studies her canvas, trying to decide how to tackle it first. Finally, she nods. She grabs the cool whip and squirts a trail up one side of his dick. She uses her tongue to clean the trail off. He shudders with anticipation. She smirks before doing a repeat on the other side. His shuddering is more violent this time. She chuckles. Then she sprays a crown of cool whip around the head of his dick as well as on the head itself._

"_Here comes the hot fudge," she warns him. He nods. She carefully pours two spoonfuls of the sauce over the cool whip, but streaks of it drip down his shaft. He hisses. Elena immediately cleans up the streaks with her tongue, and this time the hiss is from pleasure rather than pain. "Now for cherry on top," she says, putting one in place after carefully removing the stem. She licks her lips. "My, don't you look delicious," she teases Damon._

"_Elena," he says, not _quite_ begging but not far from it._

"_Yes, Damon?" she asks innocently, gently running a finger up and down his shaft._

"_Please," he begs, caving in._

"_As you wish," she chuckles before closing her eyes and wrapping her mouth around his head, toppings and all. His hips buck and she gladly takes even more of him in. She relaxes her throat so that she can take in his full length. She hums her pleasure and the vibrations against his dick causes Damon's eyes to roll back in ecstasy. She begins alternating suckling his length with deep-throating him, gently scraping her teeth against his erection as she goes. She brings him right up to the brink then lets him simmer down before bringing him back to the brink again and again. Damon never _knew_ such a thing could be done to a guy. Finally she lets him spill his seed down her throat and she swallows it readily, delighting as the taste of him mixes with the hot fudge, cherry, and cool whip._

_Finally, his hips relax and she pulls away, cleaning him with her tongue as she goes. She smirks at the blissful expression on his face. "You should get a taste," she decides, climbing up his body until she's straddling his chest. She leans down and captures his lips with hers, pushing her tongue past his lips. Damon groans at the sweetness of the cool whip, hot fudge, and cherries mixing with the saltiness of his seed as her tongue dances with his. Finally, she pulls away and smirks at him._

"_Is that it?" he asks, slightly dazed by the experience._

"_Not by a long shot," she says, chuckling at the surprise written clearly on his face. "This isn't just about you," she informs him. "The first part was for me to appreciate your body in a whole new way. Now it's my turn for some satisfaction. You'll enjoy this just as much as the first round, I promise." With that, Elena slowly slides her breasts against his chest before sitting up. "This time, you will be watching for a bit," she says conversationally. "I want to show you some of the things I do when I need satisfaction but you're not available. I do these things with every thought focused on you. So, watch and learn. First, I get a little mood music going."_

_Elena climbs off Damon and then completely off the bed. She picks up her ingredients and returns them to her dresser. She grabs her IPod and starts searching through her songs, shameless about her nakedness. Finally, she finds the song she's looking for. She hits play then repeat. Damon immediately recognizes the song _Can't Fight the Moonlight_ by LeAnn Rimes after just the first few notes._

_Elena turns towards him and toss her hair over her shoulders. She then tilts her head back and raises her hands to their respective shoulders. She slowly slides her hands down over her breasts across her flat stomach to end at her hips. Damon feels another hard-on rapidly forming as Elena lets the music drive her movements._

_He tests the handcuffs she had used to attach him to her bed and finds that they aren't the kiddy handcuffs with a safety switch should you lose the key. No, these are the real deal. Another test proves she fastened them too tight for him to wiggle his hands free but not so tight that they would chafe his skin. So he's stuck until she lets him free. She wouldn't be happy if he broke her bed or her cuffs just to get to his hands on her. So he can only sit back and enjoy the show.' And what a show it is,' he thinks appreciatively._

_Elena gently massages her breasts, playing with her tits. She lowers her head, opens her eyes, and smirks naughtily at him. She saunters over and climbs back on the bed to straddle his thighs. She then returns one hand to playing with her chest while her other hand trails down to that magic spot between her legs. Damon's eyes widen as he watches her. His dick is painfully erect and he hopes she gives it attention soon or he just might go insane._

_Elena slides her own thumb over her clit, moaning in pleasure as she forces herself to keep her eyes open and on Damon, drinking in his reaction. Finally, she can't take it anymore and shoves a finger in, hissing at the slight release in the pressure building within her. She pumps her finger while curling it, stretching her inner walls. She doesn't intend on going all the way to her release on her own. So she needs to stretch her walls so that she can slide down on him without much pain. Once she feels ready, she adds a second finger, starting up a scissor action while she pumps. Then she adds a third, and a fourth. Finally she pulls her hand out, already aching to be united with him._

"_Normally, I finish this myself when I'm alone," she says, her eyes shining. "But I'm not alone, am I?"_

"_No, you're not," Damon says, knowing full-well what's coming next._

_Elena lifts herself off the bed and they both hiss as she slides down onto him. Even with the preparation she gave her core, it's still a tight fit. She reaches forward with the hand still dripping with the early stages of her juices. "Clean me up?" she asks, smiling innocently. Damon reaches his head forward to lick each finger clean of her sweet nectar. Once her hand is clean and the need for completion has his hips grinding against hers, she pulls her hand away. "Remember, I'm in charge Damon. You're supposed to be submitting to me tonight," she points out. Damon groans but forces himself to hold still. LeAnn Rimes is still playing on repeat on Elena's IPod. "Now for the final stage," she says decisively._

_She leans forward, cups Damon's face in her hands, and gives him a kiss searing with passion as she begins to ride him. She bites his lower lip, drawing blood. She then suckles at his lip, swallowing his rich blood. But, being a vampire, he heals sooner than either would have liked. Elena shrugs and goes back to kissing him as her hips pick up the pace against his. She pulls away from the kiss to alter her position so that she can pull him in all the way to the hilt. Then she resumes picking up the pace. Rather than returning to the kiss, as he expects, she trails kisses up his jaw and down his throat. She sucks and nips at the juncture where his left shoulder meets his neck. Damon yelps when she bites down hard enough to break skin, then he groans as she begins drinking his blood. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes in sheer pleasure, finding himself actually _enjoying_ playing the submissive to Elena's dominatrix._

_Elena works them both into a frenzy of passion as they spiral higher and higher until they tumble over the edge into euphoria as one. Elena collapses against Damon as their bodies shudder from the sheer violence of their releases. Damon's the first to find his wits. "Okay, I'll admit it: you make a damned good dominatrix," he chuckles. "Now, how about letting me go?" he asks suggestively, tugging pointedly on the handcuffs._

"_I'm tempted to keep you handcuffed to my bed so I can have you any time I want," she retorts breathlessly._

"_Elena," he says, a warning in his voice. "I will break these cuffs if you don't let me free." Elena sighs and uses her trembling arms and legs to slide off of him, both of them hissing again at the separation. Elena crawls up the bed to reach into the same drawer in her nightstand that held the cuffs to pull out a keychain with two keys. She quickly releases Damon from her bed. He immediately pulls her into his arms. "Much better," he says. "That was the only thing I found lacking tonight: being unable to hold you."_

_Elena chuckles. "When you're able to use your hands on me, you're able to manipulate me. So I had to get your hands out of the way so that I could show you just how good a dominatrix I can be without your manipulative hands getting in the way," she says serenely, curling against him as they relax together on her bed._

_Damon knows now is the time to ask her. Either now or never. And he can't handle contemplating never asking. He pulls his arm from around her back and starts fiddling with his daylight ring. "Elena, I have something I'd like to ask you. And don't you dare laugh at me for it," he says._

_Elena tilts her head toward the clock and watches as it turns from !2:00 to 12:01. And the dream ends._

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Sarah: and there is one of Elena's many dreams in this setting. So, last chance to give your suggestions for what question Elena's subconscious wants Damon to ask. Next chapter is when the big question is revealed. Get your vote in while you can.


	6. The Big Question is Revealed

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: and here is chapter 6 of _Sleeping Doppelganger._ I'm sure everyone wants to know what the big question Elena's subconscious wants Damon to ask. Well, it will be revealed right in this chapter. Since I had no suggestions in reviews, I had to come up with it on my own. I do hope you enjoy what I write.

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Chapter 6  
The Big Question is Revealed

_Damon is not sure _what_ to think as Elena's highly erotic dream releases him from it's grasp. He knew she dreamed of him. He knew she could be a little erotic. But that was _way_ more than 'a little erotic'. His jeans in the waking world are painfully tight from the intensity of her dream. He sees that she's looking out the window again in this waking dream, though she left her hand in his._

"_Well, that was…" he starts, trying to think of _something_ to say to describe all that._

"_That was actually the mildest one," she says softly._

"_Mild?" he exclaims. "How was _that_ mild?"_

_Elena shrugs. "Trust me, Damon. Your jeans wouldn't just be tight right now if you had chosen one of the others," she says. She sighs. "If you can be distracted from your discomfort for just _one_ moment, can you _please_ tell me the damned question my subconscious wants you to ask me? I've been having these dreams off and on since the night Katherine showed up in your room with the cure to a werewolf bite. It's so damned annoying that they always end right before I find out what the hell I'm trying to tell myself."_

_Damon thinks back on the dream he had went through with her, gritting his teeth as he flash forwards through the entire dominatrix scene. He slows back down to 'play' as he reaches the part where Elena had un-cuffed him from the bed. He examines the thoughts her mind had forced upon him until the question she subconsciously longs for him to ask her becomes blaringly obvious. And his jaw drops as it runs through his head._

_Elena turns to him when he stays silent as he tries to comprehend the significance of the question. "Damon? What is it?" she asks, concerned by his expression. "What is the question?"_

_Damon rakes his free hand through his hair, his other hand still holding hers. "Your subconscious wants me to ask you to become my eternal wife," he says raggedly, blown away by everything that implies._

_Elena smiles slightly. "That's it?" she asks, relieved that it's so simple._

"_What do you mean 'that's it'?" he demands. "Do you realize what that question _means?"

_Elena rolls her eyes. "It means that I want to marry you and have you turn me," she replies evenly. "Is that so hard to believe?"_

"_Considering you've been sticking to Stefan like a burr all this time? Yes, it _is_ hard to believe," he replies, shaking his head._

"_Stefan was never the one meant for me," she sighs. "I've been so frightened by the _strength_ of my feelings for you that I've been hiding from them. But my subconscious wouldn't let me do so successfully. The dreams have been increasing in intensity and frequency since the first one, the one you chose to experience with me. For the past three weeks, it's become a nightly occurrence, even when you aren't there when I wake up from them."_

_Damon rocks back on his heels, thinking over what she's saying. Ever since she healed his heart after they opened the tomb to discover that Katherine was never in it, he has longed to turn her into his eternal queen. "What would you say if I _did_ ask you to marry me and spend eternity at my side?" he asks softly._

"_Now that Katherine's forced me to face the truth of my relationship with you, I can't fight my feelings anymore. I'd say yes. The only condition would be that we wait a few years before turning me into a vampire. I want to look a lot less like Katherine before I trap myself in an eternal body," she says. "God knows that looking like her while still human has brought me all kinds of trouble. I refuse to spend eternity trying to bail myself out of trouble that's after her."_

"_That can be arranged," he assures her, a true smile forming on his lips at the thought of this beautiful and kind woman being _his_ for eternity. "How about a kiss to seal the deal?" he asks, his eyes twinkling merrily._

_Elena nods and Damon leans forward to press his lips to hers, both in this waking dream and in the real world. That's when the compulsion on Elena is broken._

Elena wakes to find herself wrapped in Damon's arms with his lips pressed to hers. She smiles into the kiss, closes her eyes again, and returns the kiss with all the love in her heart.

"Well, about time she woke up," Caroline grumbles. "I mean, he's been in her head for _hours!"_

"It probably took a lot more than just a kiss for him to wake her," Jeremy retorts, smirking. He had known from the first moment he saw Damon and Elena in the same room that they would inevitably get together. That it had taken so long had been a bit of a surprise.

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Sarah: there's going to be one, _maybe_ two, more chapters after this before the story is complete. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Please leave a review.


	7. Wedding Bells

Sleeping Doppelganger  
DG32173

Sarah: and here's chapter 7, finally! Also, all the info I got on what the flowers mean I got offline. So don't yell if I'm wrong. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 7  
Wedding Bells

Damon nervously tugs at his bowtie. Today has been three long months in the planning and it's finally here: the day he marries one Elena Gilbert, soon to be Elena Salvatore. The fact that _he's_ the one who's been granted the hard-earned prize of giving her the Salvatore family name is _still_ a little hard to believe. It's almost too good to be true. Almost.

Stefan sighs. "Relax, Damon," the younger Salvatore brother says. 'She's not going to drop you at the altar. You know as well as I do that she's not like that."

Stefan had held up to his end of the promise the brothers had made each other when they were still human – long before Katherine waltzed into their lives – and agreed to be Damon's best man. Even after a hundred-sixty-three years as brothers, Stefan still doesn't know Damon half as well as his soon-to-be bride does.

"I'm more nervous about whatever she chose to be her bridal attire," Damon says, frowning.

"You mean you never got a peek?" Stefan ask, more amused than surprised.

"Nope. The girls have been very careful to keep it a secret from me. It's been kept at Judgy's place, and I _still_ don't have an invite there," Damon replies.

Stefan chuckles. He's in on the surprise Elena has prepared for Damon. "Damon, trust me, you're going to love it," he assures his brother.

"It feels like everyone in the wedding party is in on the secret except me," Damon complains.

"That's because we are," Stefan teases. "Elena wants to give you a surprise that you can't find out about beforehand. So Matt and Bonnie have been ingesting vervaine so you can't compel the secret from them. And everyone knows you would never dare compel Elena again, not after what she did when you returned the memories you stole from her."

Damon winces at the reminder. She had forced him to sleep on the couch for a week while she took his bed, saying that she was teaching him a lesson about the consequences of meddling with her mind without her permission. He definitely learned _that_ lesson. "You got the ring?" Damon asks, changing the subject. Stefan reaches into his pocket, pulls out a red velvet ring box, and flips it open to show off the simple-but-elegant silver-and-gold ring with a pale blue lapis lazuli gem embedded in the top. Damon sighs in content as he examines the ring he had designed specifically for Elena. He had designed it so that her wedding band could double as her sunlight ring once he turns her. Bonnie has already pre-enchanted it. Engraved on the inside is her new initials and their wedding date.

Stefan smiles, knowing just how much this day means to his brother and to Elena as well. Weddings between two vampires or a vampire and a human last for eternity, and maybe even beyond that. Vampires don't go into marriage lightly and certainly don't do so on a whim. Once a vampire commits themselves to someone enough to marry them, it's like the point of no return. There's no turning back from it. That's why there are so _few_ marriages involving vampires.

A knock on the dressing room door knocks both brothers out of their thoughts. "Come in," Damon says as Stefan closes the ring box and returns it to his pocket.

Jeremy opens the door enough to stick his head in. "Mrs. Lockwood said to let you know it's time for the guys to get in position. The wedding is going to start soon," he says. "I have to get ready to walk my sister down the aisle," he mutters, shaking his head. "I can't believe she talked me into this. Why couldn't Rick do this?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "You know how much it means to her that she be handed away by a blood relative," he reminds the kid. "You're all she has left. It's too late to back out now."

Jeremy rolls his eyes. "Anyways, hurry up and get in position. Now I have to tell Tyler before getting in my own position," he says, shutting the door as he leaves.

Elena's dressing room

Elena sighs as she tries _very_ hard to stand still while her girlfriends do her makeup and hair. "Are you sure he's going to like this dress?" she asks plaintively for the umpteenth time.

"Elena, you're going to knock the air he doesn't need right out of Damon when he sees you," Caroline assures her, grinning her amusement as she carefully crimps her friend's hair. Elena had put her foot down at having her hair curled for this, saying she didn't need to look any _more_ like Katherine than she already does for all that it was thanks to her ancestress that her big day is even happening.

"The town's more snobbish population is going to be scandalized by how much skin you're showing but Damon's going to be eating you up with his eyes. Who knows? He might even get so caught up in you that he drools a little! Imagine _that!_" Bonnie chuckles as she carefully applies pale blue eye shadow to Elena's eyelids.

Elena chuckles at the image of her soon-to-be husband drooling at the sight of her. "You're right," Elena sighs. "This is Damon. He would love anything I chose to wear because I'm the one wearing it."

But she tugs self-consciously at the ice blue silk gown she had personally designed with Caroline's help. It has a full skirt that flares out from her hips but the torso is a crisscross of fabric that covers enough of her chest to be decent to wear in public but shows an ample amount of cleavage. It's held up by a choker-style collar around her neck and is sleeveless. On her feet are ice blue strappy low-heals with crisscross straps climbing up to her knees. She's wearing sapphire dewdrop earrings that Damon had given her on their one-month anniversary as a couple and around her neck is a heart locket made of gold and studded in sapphires with a sprig of dried vervaine clasped into one side and a picture of them tucked into the other. Just one week after they got together, Damon had insisted that she return the necklace Stefan had given her because he didn't want to constantly look at _his_ girl and see her wearing a gift from his _brother._ That was when he gave her the locket.

Elena raises her hand to gently stroke the locket, smiling gently at the memory. Bonnie and Caroline roll their eyes at each other. Ever since Elena had gotten together with Damon, she's become a lot more prone to drifting off into space as the least little thing makes her think of something that happened between the two of them. "Earth to Elena," Bonnie says.

"Come in, Elena," Caroline chimes in. "C'mon girl, it's your _wedding day._ You can't let yourself turn into a space-case _now."_

Elena chuckles. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the time Damon gave me this locket," she apologizes.

"Wait until after this whole thing is over to zone out into La La Land," Bonnie suggests. "Of course, I'm sure _Damon_ will have plenty of ways to bring you right back to Earth," she adds wickedly. "Any thoughts on how he'd do that, Elena?"

Elena blushes crimson. Her girlfriends are constantly trying to get her to spill the beans on her sexcapades with Damon, wanting to know what he's like with someone he actually loves. To their disappointment, she has kept her mouth tightly shut on the subject. So they started theorizing for themselves what could be happening using Caroline's experiences with him and the superbly sated look on Elena's face after a night with him as clues. But even their wildest theories are far from the truth of the mildest of nights between the lovebirds. Elena had immediately moved most of her things out of the Gilbert house and into Damon's room at the boarding house when they got together. Just three days later, Stefan packed his bags and leased an apartment in the building Alaric used to call home. He was tired of _trying_ to get some sleep while the new couple were at their thing.

Bonnie sighs as her attempt to get juicy details fails yet again. She carefully applies a coat of shimmering strawberry lip gloss to Elena's lips. "Well, your makeup's done," she says, pulling away.

"And I'm done with your hair," Caroline says, turning off the crimping iron and setting it on the table. "Have a look," she continues, carefully turning Elena so that the bride can see her reflection in the full length mirror in the corner.

"Is that really me?" Elena gasps, staring in awe at the young beauty standing between her friends in the mirror.

"That's really you, Elena," Bonnie chuckles. "Now, all that's left is the veil." She carefully retrieves the silver circlet holding the gauzy material that is the same shade of ice blue as her dress.

"And now my nerves decide to show up," Elena says, smiling weakly.

"It's your big day, Elena," Caroline says, rolling her eyes before taking the veil from Bonnie and carefully pinning it in place. She then proceeds to fluff the gauzy curtain, making sure it falls just so. "Today you vow to stay true to a badass vampire for the rest of eternity. Of course you'd have nerves."

A knock comes at the door before Carol Lockwood pokes her head in. She shakes her head at the sight of Elena's dress. "I still don't understand why you didn't go for something a bit more traditional," she sighs.

"Mrs. Lockwood, you know the groom's secret. How can _anything_ about marrying a vampire be traditional? _Particularly_ when that vampire is Damon Salvatore?" Elena chuckles.

Carol sighs in defeat. "You're right. It's just that dress is going to scandalize half the congregation and the other half will want the bride of their wedding to wear something like it," she says.

"If they're going to be scandalized by my dress, just wait until they see the wedding cake," Elena laughs.

Caroline and Bonnie burst out laughing as well while Carol groans. The couple had insisted that their multi-tiered cake to look like a mausoleum in the middle of a graveyard with the bride and groom pieces, miniature replicas of the actual bride and groom, dancing right out front of the door to the mausoleum with tiny fangs on their mouths. "This wedding is going to be the biggest scandal the town has seen yet," Carol complains.

"Just as Damon wanted," Elena chuckles. "Just be glad that I put my foot down on getting married in the cemetery. Damon was _so_ eager for a cemetery wedding."

"You'd have been chased right out of town for that," Carol sighs. "Anyways, I came to tell you it's time to get into place. The wedding is about to start."

"You have the ring, right, Caroline?" Elena asks her vampire friend.

"I still don't see why you didn't ask Bonnie to hold the ring," Caroline sighs, reaching into the pocket of her silver gown and pulling out a red velvet jewelry box. She flicks it open to reveal a simple band of mixed gold and silver. Engraved on the inside of the band is his initials and their wedding day. The bride and groom had agreed that their rings be gold and silver, his simple and hers elegant, as well as have their initials and the date of their wedding engraved on the inside.

"Because Damon would be certain I'd curse it," Bonnie says wryly. "He knows that the _only_ reason I put up with him is because Elena loves him."

"Okay, girls, let's get moving," Carol says. "Sunset is coming and the ceremony is about to start."

Caroline closes the ring box and returns it to her pocket. Then she and Bonnie grab their mini-bouquets of azalea and pink carnation flowers. Elena takes a deep breath before picking up her own bouquet of black magic thorn-less roses and forget-me-nots. She had picked out the flowers and their arrangement for the whole wedding as well as the reception very carefully. The azaleas were chosen for their translation of asking the recipient to take care of themselves. The pink carnations represent that Elena will never forget her girlfriends. The roses in her own bouquet signal she's at the start of a new beginning, the lack of thorns on the roses symbolize love at first sight, and while the forget-me-nots stand for true love. The church aisle she will walk down has a vase of aster (a symbol of love), gloxinia (love at first sight), and lily of the valley ('you've made my life complete') blossoms carefully taped to the outside of each pew on either side. The boys had busted their asses building a wooden arch that the couple will get married under. Woven into the arch are hundreds of black magic roses, orange blossoms (a flower symbolizing marriage), orchids (love, beauty), and magenta zinnias (lasting affection). All the flowers on the arch are actually _very_ realistic fakes. The couple intend on transporting the arch back to Damon's room in the boarding house and situating it right inside the door leading from his room to the hall. The rest of the flowers used in the ceremony are all quite real.

Elena takes another breath to steady herself before following her friends out of the changing room. She sees her brother waiting for her once she reaches her position. "You know, I'm sure that Damon can hear your heart beating all the way at the altar over the noise of this crowd," he teases. "You need to relax. It's your big day, Elena. You're going to scandalize the town and give them something to talk about for _years_ to come. And you're going to marry the perfect guy for you."

"I'm glad you approve of him, Jer," she says softly as she loops her arm with his before clutching her bouquet with both hands.

"Hey, I've been the one trying to get you to see what was right under your nose this whole time," Jeremy retorts. "You look great, by the way. Damon is _definitely_ going to drool a little at the sight of you."

"You think so?" Elena says, blushing.

"Elena, you're my _sister_ and _I'm_ having a hard time not staring," he chuckles. "Damon is going to love this surprise."

"We keep telling her that," Caroline says, rolling her eyes.

Carol Lockwood steps into the sanctuary briefly to talk with the priest, one of the Fells. Then she returns. "Okay, Caroline, you stand here and when the music starts, you walk down the aisle to get in your position," she says, positioning Caroline in the spot. "Bonnie, you wait here until there's a flourish in the music and then it'll be your turn," she continues, positioning Bonnie just out of sight of the door. Then she turns to Elena. "I guess it's too late for you to get another dress, isn't it?" she sighs in resignation.

"Mrs. Lockwood, wearing this dress down the aisle is my wedding gift to Damon," Elena chuckles. "Since you'll be up front, I hope you'll take a quick picture of his face when the doors open to reveal me. He'll have hidden his initial reaction by the time I get close enough to analyze his expression."

"Stefan's already on it," Caroline assures the bride-to-be. "He says he's been waiting to get Damon's initial reaction to the dress on camera from the second he first saw you in it."

"Okay," Carol says, taking a deep breath. "Elena, stay out of sight while the other two are leaving. Then you and Jeremy stand right behind the doors, just out of the way of them opening. The doors will open once the bridal march starts, that will be your cue to walk slowly down the aisle. Just like in practice. Only this time, it's real. Now, I need to find my seat. We'll be starting any minute."

With that, Carol leaves the four of them in the semi-gloom of the hall so that she can be seated when things start. "You better have memorized your lines, Elena," Jeremy chuckles.

"Don't worry. I know them," is the reply accompanied by a slight smile.

Then the music starts. Caroline takes a deep breath before walking through the door. About thirty seconds later, the flourish in the music announces it's time for Bonnie to go down the aisle and take her place at the altar. Jeremy and Elena position themselves just out of the way of the doors. Finally, the bridal march starts and the ushers swing open the doors to reveal us to the congregation and the groom. Elena holds her head high, a small smile on her lips, as she walks down the aisle on Jeremy's arm. All around them, the townsfolk whisper about how scandalous her dress is. She keeps her eyes firmly on Damon. When she gets close enough to see his facial expression, she sees that she was right in that she wouldn't be able to see his initial reaction without someone taking a picture of it. Only his eyes are showing how shocked he is at her outfit: they're as big as saucers and full of surprise mingled with delight.

Finally, Jeremy and Elena stop in front of the wedding arch. "Who is giving the bride away?" Pastor Fell asks.

"Jeremy Gilbert," Jeremy answers.

"Of what relation are you to the bride that gives you the right to give her hand to this man?" Pastor Fell asks.

"I'm her brother," Jeremy replies.

"Very well then," Pastor Fell says. Jeremy presses a kiss to Elena's cheek before releasing her arm to take his seat next to Alaric in the front row. Elena steps forward to stand facing Damon. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to see the joining of this man, Damon Salvatore, and this woman, Elena Gilbert, in holy matrimony." The word 'holy' causes the numerous people in on Damon's secret to bite their lip to keep from laughing. "If there is anyone present who knows why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." At this, Damon, Stefan, and Tyler all glare fiercely at the crowd, warning anyone who _might_ have been contemplating speaking up to hold their peace or there will be severe consequences. The room is quiet for several long minutes before Pastor Fell continues. "As no one has spoken up, we shall continue the wedding. The bride and the groom have prepared their own vows. Let us first hear the vows of the groom. Damon Salvatore, speak your vows."

Damon smirks. "Elena, you know how many years I spent chasing a dream. When we met, I was still set to see that dream come to fruition. But as I grew to know you, I found myself doubting that dream on many occasions. When we went through the ordeal of bringing about the events that should have been my dream come true, I found that I had been chasing a lie. You had worked so hard to bring the man out of the monster I had been and then you worked just as hard to stop me from turning back into that monster. These past two and a half years have held many trials for us. I confessed my love for you on many circumstances that were not quite right. But _now_ is most definitely the right time to tell you that I love you more than I've ever loved anything in my life and I vow to love you beyond the end of eternity. I vow to keep you safe when danger threatens. I vow to be right at your side during any challenges that come our way. And I vow to love you more than you have ever thought anyone could possible love you."

Pastor Fell turns to Elena. "Now for the vows of the bride. Elena Gilbert, speak your vows," he says.

"Damon, I once thought I knew what love was. But then you came into my life and demolished that notion. I've felt so many different emotions for you since I met you. Hate, fear, friendship, loyalty. And it all culminated into the most intense love I have ever felt for someone. I'll admit, I was frightened by the intensity of it for too long. I ran from it and tried my best to bury it away. But you kept on dragging it right back to the surface. Circumstances forced me to face my feelings for you three months ago. And the past three months since I accepted my feelings have been the happiest I have ever lived. I vow to spend eternity completely devoted to you as your wife. I vow to love you with every fiber of my being for the rest of time, and then some. And I vow that you and I will always be together from here on."

"Present the rings," Pastor Fell says. Caroline and Stefan step forward, reaching into their pockets for the red velvet ring boxes. As one, they flick open the ring boxes and hold them forward. "Damon Salvatore, please take your bride's ring and her left hand." Damon takes a deep breath and does as he's told. "Place the ring on her ring finger and repeat after me: with this ring, I be wed."

Damon carefully slides the ring onto Elena's hand. "With this ring, I be wed," he says.

"Elena Gilbert, please take your groom's ring and his left hand," Pastor Fell says. Elena does as she's told. "Place the ring on his ring finger and repeat after me: with this ring, I be wed."

Elena slides Damon's ring on his ring finger. "With this ring, I be wed," she says.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Damon Salvatore! Damon, you may kiss your bride," Pastor Fell says, stepping back.

Damon pulls Elena in for the most romantic kiss the Mystic Falls has ever seen, complete with dipping her over his arm. The cheers are thunderous. Once that's through, it's time for to get in their cars and go to the reception. Damon and Elena run up the aisle to get into his car and lead the much smaller reception party to The Grill, both of them laughing as they get pelted with rice.

Stefan watches them run and realizes that he has never seen either of them any happier than they are now. He makes sure that all the rice in he tosses ends up in their hair. Vampire reflexes has some advantages after all. He smiles wistfully as he and the rest of the bridal party make their way up the aisle after the happy couple. "Way to set the bar high with _those_ vows," Jeremy comments as he falls into place next to Stefan. He examines the vampire minutely. "You don't seem too upset."

"Did you hear them as they were running out of here? They were _laughing,"_ Stefan points out. "I haven't heard Damon laugh like _that,_ all carefree and joyous, since I was a kid. She makes him happier than he's ever been. And he's brought out a fire in her I haven't even been able to _touch._ I'm not going to get in the way of that. Maybe I might be able to find someone who'll make _me_ that happy."

Jeremy notices someone standing in the shadow of an old oak in the churchyard. "Don't look now, but I think someone's here who would _love_ to have that chance again," he says.

Stefan raises an eyebrow and Jeremy nods towards the girl leaning against the old oak. Stefan looks. "I'll meet you at the reception. Make sure they save some cake for me," Stefan excuses himself before heading over to the oak tree.

"Good luck, man," Jeremy calls before going to climb in Alaric's car.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Stefan asks.

"Elena invited me," she replies evenly.

"She what?" Stefan asks, surprised.

"Elena invited me to her wedding," she says, reaching into her purse to pull out the black wedding invitation with blue roses in the corners. "Damon wasn't very happy about it, but he couldn't just throw me out for more than just the fact that I'm stronger than him. Elena and I have been playing the role of twins separated at birth for about a week now. I also have an invitation to the reception."

"But why are you even here?" Stefan asks.

"One, I wanted to see my final descendant get married to the vampire of her dreams. And two, I'm here for you," she replies.

"Here for me?" Stefan repeats, confused.

"Yes," Katherine replies. "Apparently, you haven't yet figured out _why_ you were so infatuated with Elena that you mistook it for love."

"And you have?" Stefan demands, crossing his arms.

"I have a pretty good idea. Elena is like the girl I was when I was human. As I said that day three months ago, a lot of things conspired in my life to make me who I am now. I also mentioned that it took me a hundred-and-forty-five years to understand the difference between love and infatuation. A hundred-and-forty-five _years._ Sounds like a pretty specific amount of time to me," she replies.

Stefan furrows his brows as he thinks about it. But then his eyes widen in realization. "You were infatuated with Damon and in _love_ with me," he realizes.

Katherine nods. "Precisely. But you two were fighting over me, making it difficult to organize my emotions. As you know, vampirism enhances one's emotions to the point they're a little hard to figure out. The only thing I could think of was to escape because you and Damon wouldn't let me alone long enough so I could make up my mind. I kept an eye on you over the years but I also made sure to keep tabs on Damon. I arrived in town the day Damon took your place as Elena's escort for Miss Mystic Falls. You should know, Stefan, I protect what belongs to me viciously. And since Elena is the last of my bloodline, that means she belongs to me as family. The thing at the masquerade? That was me protecting her in my own way. I was protecting her from you and Damon. I could see it was turning into 1864 all over again and I wasn't going to let it happen unless I was around to intervene on her behalf. Where I had the choice of running away from the feud between you two, she doesn't. She has ties keeping her here. She would have ended up getting between the two of you trying to kill each other and _she_ would have ended up dead in a way that she wouldn't have come back from. I wasn't going to take the chance of not being able to protect her from such a fate. I have my own way of protecting what's mine. Now, we better get to the reception if we want to be there in time to see them cut the cake." With that, she turns toward the parking lot and starts making her way down the lawn. "Come on, you're riding with me. Everyone else is already gone."

Stefan sighs, runs a hand through his hair, but obediently follows Katherine to her 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe.


End file.
